Community Briefs: May 9

Published: Thursday, May 9, 2013 at 6:53 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, May 9, 2013 at 6:53 a.m.

Christopher Tavernier, 12, was named top soloist in the annual Asheville Area Piano Forum Competition. The competition took place Saturday, April 27, with the awards ceremony on the following Sunday.

Tavernier won first place in the Advanced Division through Pre-College Level. He was also the youngest pianist in the Advanced Division through pre-college. The competition was held at the Broyhill Chapel at Mars Hill College.

“I am so grateful that the Asheville Piano Forum members and teachers has supported my growth and help me achieve this honor, they have been so helpful,” Tavernier said. “If it wasn’t for my teacher, Dr. John Cobb, I would never be able to reach these heights in classical music.”

As the winner, Tavernier won the “Top Honor” to perform at the Diana Wortham Theater in Asheville for the AAPF’s 13th Fall Benefit Concert on Sept. 22, 2013. He will be playing with top professionals and international pianists who are all members of the prestigious Asheville Area Piano Forum. Tavernier’s winning performance will be heard on WCQS, affiliate of NPR Public Radio later next month.

The Diana Wortham Fall Benefi t Concert of the Asheville Area Piano Forum, is to raise money in order that talented, but financially challenged youngsters can afford to take piano lessons. These dedicated musicians play solo and ensemble music in a variety of styles to help fulfill the charitable mission of the Asheville Piano Forum.

West Henderson High Band received awards

The West Henderson High School Band has received numerous awards this spring. The band performed at Brevard College’s Porter Center for the Western District Bandmaster’s Music Performance Assessment on March 20.

On the following Friday, they loaded a bus and traveled to Washington, D.C., where they competed again.

At the Porter Center the students performed a march and two concert selections. They received a “Superior” rating, the highest possible, from all judges as well as “As” in every category: tone quality, intonation, technique, rhythm, balance and musicianship.

Students performed grade five music, which is appropriate for an advanced high school band. After their stage performance, they moved to a separate room for sight-reading, or playing a piece of music that they had never seen before. The students earned a superior rating in sight-reading as well.

On Friday, March 22, they competed in Washington, D.C., against bands from across the country. They received a superior rating from all judges, as well as earning the Grand Champion Award for the entire competition. Also, the judges presented an additional trophy to recognize and “Outstanding Trombone Section.”

After their competition victory, students toured the Capitol Building, Smithsonian Museums, War Memorials, National Monuments, Arlington National Cemetery, and enjoyed a performance by The President’s Own United States Marine Corps Band.

Brevard teacher, students, create planter boxes for Oaks

Susan Jones has worked in the memory support unit at the Oaks of Brevard for the past three years. She has spent time cultivating activities that interest residents at the Oaks and helps them maintain important memory skills.

Over the past three years, Jones noticed that many residents at the Oaks are farmers and gardeners. Agriculture has been a way of life and comes as second nature to many of them. She began to brainstorm ways to bring agriculture into her memory support activities.

It didn’t take long to realize that her unit needed some kind of flower/planter box that residents could enjoy. They could plant flowers and vegetables and care for them. It would help make them feel more at home and have a piece of their life with them during their time at the Oaks. With this in mind, she reached out to Jerry Fletcher, a teacher at Brevard High.

Fletcher quickly became excited about the project and joined forces with classes at Rosman High to create and deliver the flower/planter box to the Oaks.

“I can not express my gratitude to Mr. Fletcher for making the dream of a flower box for my residents a reality,” Jones said. “To watch the residents plant flowers on Wednesday afternoon was amazing — just to see the smiles on their face as they put their hands in dirt. Students worked hard designing and building the boxes and were all smiles on the morning of delivery.”

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